


No Home

by DirgeOfCerberus111



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven universe au - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Diverges after Catch and Release, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gonna say it flat out, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld is Horrible, I'm not the kind for nothing but angst, New Home AU, No torture or super violent stuff, Steven explores Homeworld, Steven is White Diamond's prisoner, There are plenty of fluffy moments though!, WD is the worst, Well and AU of that, not that kind of fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-02-26 10:11:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13233540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DirgeOfCerberus111/pseuds/DirgeOfCerberus111
Summary: This is an SU fanfic I made that's actually an AU of the fantastic New Home Webcomic by Kibble-Bits, http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=157119. Which itself is canon-divergent after Catch and Release. Yes, it is an AU of an AU. This is actually my first real fanfic ever really.In New Home, "the Drill failed. The Cluster is still growing. And Yellow Diamond has arrived on Earth to retrieve Peridot and her geo-weapon. Desperate, Steven offers himself and everything he can do to Yellow Diamond. In exchange, she will terminate the Cluster. He now lives on her ship as they set course back to Homeworld."In this, however, Blue Diamond was the one to pick him up instead of Yellow Diamond and takes him prisoner, and even though he still gives himself up in exchange for saving the Earth, she does nothing to stop the Cluster. She keeps him around for a while because of how adorable and awestruck he is of everything. Eventually, however, she gets bored of him because he gets depressed about the Earth and basically abandons him with her Court on Homeworld. That's where White Diamond captures him and now he's in her clutches. And she is far worse than any of them.And that's where we start.





	1. Prologue Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I this was originally posted on Tumblr so I'm bringing them here. Keep in mind that these first four parts were made over the course of the year, so forgive the many errors in this, there is a bit of progression in the quality from here on out.

Steven woke with a gasp and bolted upright. He had been having a nightmare. No, he had been remembering. Of being chased, by an inescapable phantom. Steven had been running through the halls of Blue Diamond’s ship, after having just barely escaped his pursuers in the court hall. That was until she found him.

Steven remembered how he had ran right into her, or her _leg_ rather _._

_In the dark hallway, Steven backpedaled away from towering figure who had just moments ago not been there. He never not a good look at her, nothing besides a towering silhouette, a massive shock of spiky hair, and terrifying shark-toothed smile. His attempts to defend himself with his shield only garnered haughty laughter as she seemed to flash in and out of existence, getting closer and closer to him with every terrifying step and flash of electricity. He ran. But no matter how fast he ran she was always right behind him. Every time he had turned to look back she was gone, only for her to reappear just when he thought he was safe and for their chase to resume. She was around every corner, behind every door, laughing, smiling. Inescapable._

Eventually, exhausted and terrified out of his mind, Steven had just given up and begged the figure to stop tormenting him. Finally, with the chase over, the figure scooped him up as one would a small toy and carried him away.

“ _Wait, no stop! You’re making a mistake! I’M NOT HER!_ ” Steven cried out as he struggled vainly against the limb that was wrapped around him.

“ _You are,”_ the chilling voice replied from above him. “ _It will show in time. And we’ve got all the time in the world_.”

He had passed out after that.

Steven sat up and looked around at his surroundings. He was in some kind of room, it was stark, mostly empty, brightly lit…and harshly _white_. "Well, that answers that question." Steven thought. Though he could not see his pursuer, but some part of him just knew it had been White Diamond. Peridot had warned him that White Diamond was dangerous and that she was looking for him. She had also said that she was out to get him, and yet here he was, still alive. So that was good. Wasn’t it?

Steven stood himself up and made his way to the other side of the room and studied the wall. He wondered how Peridot and Moppy were doing. He had lost sight of them after White Diamond’s troops had appeared and everything went crazy. "Were they safe? Were they alright?" he wondered. He didn’t know.

Steven pushed those thoughts out of his mind for now and continued to search the room for some kind of entrance but the Gem race’s lack of doorknobs was not making it easy.

At this point Steven supposed that should be used to this sort of thing. Waking up on Peridot’s ship, waking up on Blue Diamond’s ship, waking up in Blue Diamond’s Court, and now waking up in this? He had been making a habit of this routine.

Everything had only been getting worse ever since he had been captured by Blue Diamond. Homeworld had returned to see why the Cluster hadn’t destroyed the Earth yet. To save the Earth he had offered himself to Blue Diamond as a prisoner. Onboard her ship, Steven had to keep himself on her good side to survive, only for her to lose interest in him, and then for another Diamond, apparently the _worst one of them all_ , to be on the hunt for him. Now he found himself…here.

“Hello?” Steven called out, somewhat hesitantly. He patted the wall where he figured the door would be. “Is anybody there?” There was no response so he patted the wall harder this time but still no response. There was no force field this time, which as strange as it sounded was actually unfortunate, because then he could actually get out of here!

He pounded the wall again, seeing if this time he could make a dent in it.

This time it pounded back.


	2. Prologue Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing from Prologue Part 1

Steven retreated back away from the wall as fast as he could before he stumbled backward and froze where he fell.

Steven’s heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for something to happen. But nothing did. No more noises followed, nor did any doors opened. Just agonizingly long seconds of still silence in the blank, empty, white room.

Was someone there?

Eventually, Steven realized he had been holding his breath and resumed breathing. Slowly his fear gave way to wary curiosity and as he got up he cautiously began inching his way towards the wall again. Steven slowly eased himself closer until it was just within arm’s reach. Then slowly, very slowly, Steven reach out with his arm…and politely knocked twice.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then…

_Knock, knock._

Steven’s heart jumped in his chest at this sudden development. He knocked again three times to see if it was just an echo.

Four knocks responded.

Now really anxious, Steven prepared to say something. But before he could say anything he was interrupted when he heard another set of knocks.

But this time they were coming from the opposite side of the room.

Steven turned around, confused by the new direction the sound was coming from. He went over to the other side of the room and investigated the part of the wall where the sound had come from, feeling the wall with a curious look on his face. But not more than a few seconds passed before the knocks resumed again from a different wall.

Steven ran over to the next wall where the sound had emanated from. But as soon as he arrived the sound moved again.

Then it moved again.

And again.

_And again._

Steven had to start running at full speed to try and catch up. Around and around the room he went. But every time he got there, without skipping so much as a beat, the knocking would resume from a completely different spot.

It was moving so fast now that the sound was coming from opposite sides near simultaneously. Steven stopped running as his mind raced to understand how this was possible. His head whipped left and right trying to keep up with the source of the commotion but totally in vain.

“ _What’s going on?!_ ” Steven thought.

The din had escalated into full-on banging now. Its frequency and intensity had reached alarming volume as the hammering sound was cascading from all around now, from every direction at once. The walls shook as if the entire room was being beaten like a drum. Frightened, Steven retreated as far as he could to the center of the room and covered his ears in a futile attempt to block out the deafening noise, yelling for the banging to stop but unable to hear his own voice.

 

 

Then it all stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on No Home...SHE appears!
> 
> Sorry that this was so short. Believe me, the following will be MUCH longer.


	3. Prologue Part 3

Steven opened his eyes and looked up. The noise had stopped.

Steven lowered his hands from his ears and slowly stood up again. A new sound broke the silence as the wall directly in front of Steven hummed and circuits of light illuminated the outline of a door that finally parted with a hiss. Steven didn’t remember if this had been the first wall he had looked at or not, but that didn’t register now as his eyes and mind were fixed solely on the new entranceway in suspense.

A silhouette entered the brightly lit entryway and a very long shadow fell over Steven.

The cold chill was back.

 

_…White Diamond._

 

She was tall, taller than any Gem he had seen before, tall enough to be a Fusion. But Steven could only see one clear diamond-shaped gemstone glinting from its perch on her brow. On her head she had a spiky shock of stormy grey hair that stood firmly upright, adding several more imposing feet of height to the single tallest Gem he had ever met.

No guards stood beside her side as she entered. The Diamond began walking towards him with long, clacking footsteps completely devoid of fear or hesitation, each one crossing more distance than a human being could possibly be capable of. In only a few steps, Steven had to start craning his head to look up the figure who was now completely looming over him.

Back in Blue Diamond’s ship, Steven had never gotten a good look that the nightmarish Gem that had been chasing him.

But now Steven’s eyes locked on to her face and he felt his blood turn cold.

An impossibly, horrifically wide smile was stretched across her face. Teeth like steak-knives were arrayed in vicious order in a permanent fixture resembling a shark. That smile never reached the set of chilling violet eyes that stared down at him. Long, voluminous eyelashes protruded from them like sets of wings on her face.

Their eyes met and her grin actually _widened_.

“Hello, Rose. Long time no see…” White Diamond spoke.

____ _ _

_____Uh oh._ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

As if a switch had been flipped, the Diamond’s body language had suddenly become predatory! She stalked forward at him, as if ready to pounce. Steven quickly surrounded himself with a bubble shield and threw his arms out to brace it as hard as he could for whatever happens next.

White Diamond, however, seemed completely unperturbed by this. With an amused smirk on her lips, she lifted one leg up and stepped on the bubble before beginning to press down on it. Despite Steven’s best efforts in desperately trying to hold it back with all of his strength, his bubble slowly began to give way under the pressure. White Diamond meanwhile, showed almost no sign of exerting effort. The bubble creaked and groaned in protest before finally it reached its breaking point and burst. The shock of it sent Steven falling over on his back and White Diamond’s black boot connects with the ground beside him, slamming mere inches from Steven’s head, and smashing the tiles beneath it.

Steven eventually peeks his eyes out from behind his arms and turned his head only to see the impact crater left behind by the Diamond’s foot, as well as said foot still embedded in the floor mere inches from his face. For a just a second, from this close distance Steven couldn’t help but make out the lightning bolt shape that was adorned on the heel.

His momentary sense of relief ended when she grabs him roughly by the shirt and lifts him up. She stood back up at her full height, holding Steven high above the ground and watching him struggle with delight. Legs kicking uselessly in empty air, Steven could feel static electricity emanating from the Diamond, her close proximity making his skin prickle and hair stand on end. For a brief moment, Steven noticed the strange metallic braces that were attached to her wrists. They looked almost like shackles.

White Diamond brought him close to her face and inspected him with her eyes. “I like the new look, Rose.” She said as Steven gripped her arm trying to free himself. “Nice and squishy. Just the way I like it.” Her voice was icy and full of false cheeriness that thinly veiled pure malicious intent. If that wasn’t enough, she ran a sharp fingernail down and across his face, as if deciding where to cut first. “Soft, squishy…” She drew her finger down across him until it came to rest on top of his gem, which she gave a menacing tap.

“…and _ _ _ _ _ __fragile_______!”

The entire time she had never once stopped grinning.

“STOP! Please listen to me, I’m not Rose Quartz!” Steven protested but White Diamond didn’t stop tapping at his gem. “I have her gem but I’m human!” Still tapping. She still didn’t look at him and just kept staring at the pink gemstone embedded in his stomach. “Just scan me or whatever and you’ll see for yourself!” But White Diamond didn’t seem to hear him at all.

"Oh, don’t worry Rose, I’m not going to kill you,” she said suddenly as if she had been speaking to someone other than Steven the entire time. Hearing that, Steven stopped struggling for a moment in surprise.

“Oh good!” Steven thought. Some good news finally.

“Maybe…”

Okay, less good.

“… _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Yet_________.”

Steven promptly resumed struggling. He was kicking and flailing with all his might and desperate strength, but just like the first time on Blue Diamond’s ship, Steven could not escape her grip on him. White Diamond turned and casually begins making her way towards the bright entryway with Steven still in her grasp.

If White Diamond had even noticed Steven’s struggling, she did not show it. Instead, as she walked she said “Oh and that reminds me, you’re new organic form won’t be a problem.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steven wondered nervously with mounting dread.

“I know what you’ll need to live,” Just before they step through the door and into the bright light, she stops and looks down at him, glaring, still grinning and teeth flashing.

 

____________“ _…And what you can survive. _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	4. Prologue Part 4

Still gripping Steven under her arm, White Diamond stepped out through the doorway and into a long, brightly-lit corridor. Flanking the doorway which was now behind them, two Quartz soldiers stood guard. The normally hulking Gems looked positively childlike compared to the towering Diamond and both flinched as she passed.

Eventually, Steven stopped kicking as he noticed the change in scenery and began to take in what was around him. They were no longer in the cell but a gleaming, silvery white hallway. It wasn’t like the hallways on Peridot’s ship which were angular and barren; the corridors here were much taller, straight walled with vaultings up on the ceiling. But at the same time, it was far less decorative than on Blue Diamond’s ship. The walls lacked any kind of decor or furnishing. It was beautiful and pristine, but also clinical and frigid.

Around them there were Gems of all different kinds that passed by them. Some were familiar, like a group of Peridots and a file of Rubies. Most of the others, however, Steven had never seen before. There were all kinds of Gems, of all sorts of different shapes, colors, and sizes, their names Steven could only guess at. Each one of them bore a diamond-shaped emblem on their outfit, most of them were colored white, signifying their allegiance, but others wore the emblem of Blue Diamond, and others still had a yellow emblem that he had only rarely seen since Peridot and Jasper. Some of the Homeworld Gems were too absorbed in their tasks and keen on minding their own business to notice what was going on around them. Those that did sprung to salute White Diamond as she passed. All of them averted their eyes or ducked their heads and trembled as White Diamond strode past them without a glance.

As they continued to stroll along, Steven was brought out of his distraction when he realized that White Diamond had begun speaking again, if only to herself. She adjusted her grip on him to once again be holding him by the shirt, almost casually, as though carelessly waving around a stuffed toy.

“Now then, let’s see. Where should we should we start off first, Rose?” White Diamond pondered aloud, tapping a finger to the side of her chin. “Perhaps we’ll put you on trial for crimes against the Authority?” she said poking him hard in the cheek. “Or maybe we’ll just skip all that and start with a good old trip to the torture chamber?” Then she looked at him, and her gaze fell again to his gemstone, and it stayed there. “Or maybe…I should just _break you right now_ ,” her grip on him tightened and a chilling edge crept into her voice. Steven braced himself for another onslaught and prepared to summon a shield. But as soon as it came, the threat vanished, as her grip on him returned to normal. “Decisions, decisions!” White Diamond sighed exasperatedly, seemingly deciding to withhold judgment, or execution, at least for now.

For Steven, the worst part of all this was the fact that, while she debated his torture and possible death, her expression never let down for a moment.

Does she ever stop smiling? Steven wondered to himself.

He remembered a word that he had read about in one of Connie’s medical books. “Rictus”, a condition where the smile is unnaturally produced by muscle spasms. Maybe it was something like that? Could Gems even suffer from that? He doubted it, and the idea that this was somehow natural for her seemed incredibly more unpleasant.

Steven looked up at White Diamond’s face as she continued to stride down her path. As she walked, possibly sensing his eyes on her, she took a moment to glance back down at him and Steven's gaze was drawn into hers. In those eyes of frosty violet, Steven could see a glimmer of amusement, intrigue, and malice. He knew that if he stayed here, she would kill him. At any moment. He needed to get out of here, now!

Desperate to escape, Steven began struggling against her grip with renewed vigour.

White watched him struggle and laughed at the spectacle. “Oh good show, Rose! No really. Truly such fortitude could only belong to such an infamous rebel. Really showing how you were able to lead a planet-wide rebellion with that impressive bravado and strategic acumen you’re displaying. It’s cute, really.”

His emotions reaching their peak, Steven summoned his bubble shield and the bubble enveloped him in its protective barrier. White Diamond was caught off guard by his sudden action. The barrier closed around her hand and weakened her grip on him, finally allowing Steven to tear himself free from her grasp. Steven dropped to the floor and ran like his life depended on it.

White Diamond did not pursue, instead watching him go with a mixture of mild irritation and amusement. “Oh, are we playing this game again? Fine then, you can have a head start,” she said holding her arms patiently. A couple of moments of silently standing alone passed. “Not like it’ll do you any good anyway…” She muttered to no one in particular.

Running as fast as his legs would carry him, Steven darted through the Gem corridor looking for an exit, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the menacing Diamond as possible. He turned a corner into a hallway that didn’t seem to have any Gems patrolling it. Steven ran past several identical looking doors until he saw one that seemed like it led outside from here, wherever “here” was.

He approached the door and, sensing the presence of an advancing figure, it automatically parted ways to allow him passage. Seeing no Homeworld Gems barring his path and hearing no alarms being raised, Steven ran through the door and outside onto what appeared to be some kind of terrace or maybe a landing pad. Huffing heavily from the single longest sprint of his life, Steven finally stopped running to finally catch his breath. Resting his hands on his knees for a moment, he looked up to gather his bearings and finally see where he was…

…and before him was Homeworld.

Homeworld was a vast glimmering ecumenopolis, one that stretched to every corner of the horizon and seemed to cover every square inch of the surface. He could see that he was extremely high up, miles probably. Way below him, he could see prism-like towers of various iridescent colors spiring upwards as if reaching out at him or pointing, which lead his eyes to look upwards. Above him, the sky was alight with the brightly-lit field of stars. There was a magenta hue to it, like a sky in deep sunset, and some cirrus clouds that hung high and distantly away.

Steven’s mind could immediately sense that something was wrong with it, a strange sense of foreignness borne of being subconsciously unable to recognize any shapes or constellations that were familiar to it. It was very much the sky of an alien world.

Behind Steven, there was a flash of light and crack of lightning, and the air filled with the smell of ozone. He didn’t need to turn around or even need to recognize the thuds of the footsteps to know she was right behind him.

“Quite a sight to behold, isn’t it?” White Diamond said from behind him, taking in the view. “I mean, would you look at all this?” She gestured outwardly with a sweeping arm to the vista that lay before them. “Homeworld has certain come a long way since then.” In the strangely colored sky, trails of Homeworld ships zoomed above them, landing and taking off again with urgent haste and purpose. “We’ve advanced far beyond anything you’ve ever imagined. Homeworld is still thriving and expanding,” she narrated. “Despite your best efforts, that is,” she added with a smirk to her tone.

Steven turned his head to scrutinize the Diamond.

“You certainly caused quite a bit of trouble on Earth,” she continued, arms folded across her chest and pacing back and forth in some predatory manner. “A thousand years you meddled with the foundation of a desperately needed colony. But now, here you are,” White Diamond crouched down behind him but still she loomed over him and completely cast him in shadow. “And you’re not getting away from me this time.”

 ____S____ teven’s frown turned into a scowl. How was he supposed have any idea about what she was talking about?

“I’m surprised you even ran, considering where you are. You’d think that someone of your cut and carat would remember that. Being stuck on Earth for so long must have really turned your mind to mush along with the rest of your physical form!” Then she poked him in the face.

“Mushy,” Then again.

“ _ _ _ _ _Squishy_____ ,"And again.

“ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _Mush_**_____ **!**_  "And again!

Finally reaching the end of his patience with the Diamond, Steven bit down on the invading digit with a hard chomp. White’s bitten finger retreated from him, but his moment of satisfaction was abruptly ended. In an instant, his vision was completely filled by two massive sets of razor sharp teeth as White Diamond’s jaws slammed shut a mere hair’s breadth away from his face.

Steven only had time to register that his heart had stopped beating before White Diamond seized him by the head and held him high over the edge, dangling him over the precipice. Her hand was bigger than his whole head and gripped his cranium in a painful iron grasp. Angry sparks of electricity coiling around her form, White stood poised to drop Steven over the edge.

For a moment of stark terror, White Diamond held him out over the brink, only her five digits standing between him and a bottomless fall to certain death. The moment stretched on as White continued to hold him there, as if waiting for something to happen. For once, White looked from his gemstone and to his face, drinking his expression in. But as she did, she searched a little bit longer expectantly, and something she saw instead seemed to perplex her, and caused the briefest falter in her perennial grin. Whatever she was waiting for, it failed to materialize, and with an irritated ‘tsk’ she turned back away from the precipice and with one fluid motion tossed Steven to the floor behind her. However, it was soon before she upon him again.

“All right then, little _snack_. Listen up and listen well,” White silenced Steven’s forming protest by pinching his cheek between her gigantic fingers and giving it a none-too-gentle tug that was enough to elicit a cry of pain from him. “You’re not on your precious Earth anymore. You don’t have your little armies or your friends to help you this time. You’ll live for however long as I see fit, and then die, when I decide.”

With that, she released him again. On the ground, Steven held the part of his face that the Diamond had wrung, feeling that a large purple bruise had been left.

“Then why? Why wait? Why not just get it over with now?” Steven demanded, daring to glare back up at the towering Gem.

“Oh, but we just have so much catching up to do!” she taunted looking down at him. “So, tell me! How’s the Earth doing? Still set to explode?”

The Cluster.

It was still growing inside the Earth. Steven had given himself up to Blue Diamond in the hopes that maybe in exchange she would halt its emergence. But it hadn’t done any good. She hadn’t done anything. Steven felt his eyes start stinging. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Connie, everyone in Beach City, they were still in danger.

His fists clenched, shoulders trembling, and eyes squeezed shut, Steven struggled to find a solution. Finally, he spoke. “What do you want, White Diamond?” he asked grimly.

“What’s thaaaat? What _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ever__________ do you mean?” she said wryly.

“What do you want in exchange for stopping the Cluster and leaving the Earth alone?” Steven demanded, standing up again.

“Oh, nothing is going to change that, love,” White Diamond said with faux sympathy.

“I’ll do whatever you want, just please…. leave them alone!”

“I’m certain that you’ll be doing whatever I want anyway.”

“The people there didn’t do anything to you. They don’t even know you exist!” White Diamond inspected her nails, utterly unmoved.

“Come on, there has to be something you want!” Steven pleaded desperately.

“Maybe you can resurrect all the loyal Homeworld Gems who died in the Rebellion and undo all the damage you caused?”

Steven’s face reddened, frustration and desperation welling up within him. The Diamond held the fate of the entire Earth in her hands and she was still just mocking him. “I’m being serious! I’ll do anything, so please ask something I can actually DO!”

For some reason, White Diamond stopped and stared strangely at him for a moment.

“Very well, Rose. Keep playing dumb. If this little charade of yours is going to keep you in line, I’ll play along. However…” She crouched down to his level and placed her hand against his bruised cheek, stroking it in a gentle, almost loving manner. But that horrid look in her eyes and now resurgent grin only served to send shivers up his spine. “…don’t you ever try to run away from me again,” she warned. “There’s no chance of escape. And if you try, you’ll throw away what little chance you have of saving your precious little Earth.”

Steven wracked his mind for solutions. Anything but this. He looked around back and forth between his only two option; the door and the ledge. One led back into Homeworld’s clutches and the other to certain doom.

He had to figure out something. A way to save the Earth, a way out of here, away from her. He didn’t want to spend another second with this _awful_ Diamond, who in the last few minutes, had already threatened to kill him several times, and now dangled the fate of his home over his head.

But there was nothing. Nowhere to go. Nothing he could do. He couldn’t fight them. He couldn’t reason with them. He couldn’t even run away. He was trapped. Powerless.

Finally, his shoulders slumped down in defeat and his fists uncurled. “Fine…” Steven whispered. He had no choice but to go along with this for now.

“Then it’s settled!” White Diamond turned around and marched over to the awaiting balcony entryway and beckoned Steven in with a mockingly inviting gesture.

“Welcome to your New Home!” she declared with a triumphant grin.

As Steven sat there and gazed at the entrance, he pondered his dire circumstance, and one thought came to mind. Regardless of whatever she said, for Steven, one thing was for certain.

This was no home of his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title Drop!


	5. House Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> White Diamond lays down some ground rules.

Steven followed White Diamond down the corridor. White strode along at her long pace without any regard for whether or not her “guest” could actually keep up with her. Steven almost had to jog just to not fall behind.

“From now on you are forbidden from leaving this place and will adhere to all of Homeworld’s laws and restrictions,” she told him as she strolled on. “Do not try to attempt any sort of funny business, such as trying to leave the palace grounds, accessing anywhere above your station, not appearing when summoned, attempting to incite rebellion, attempting to convert any of my Gems to your cause, attempting to subvert my authority, or generally rebelling in any sort of way,” she said all in one breath.

Steven supposed that someone her size would have a huge pair of lungs to match.

"That is, unless you want to try and run again,” she said, looking back at him mockingly. “After all, three time’s the charm, isn’t it? Of course, then your silly planet gets destroyed. Your choice really, I'm perfectly fine either way," White shrugged, cocking her head back to one side nonchalantly.

“However…” White’s pace slowed and then stopped. The chill had crept back into her tone again. Steven looked up; she wasn’t looking at him directly, only slowly turning her head slightly as she spoke. “I do think it's only fair to warn you. If you were to actually _break_ any of these rules...” In a instant her face was inches from his again, teeth bared and flashing. “ _I will be on you faster than you can blink_.”

Steven recoiled away from her with a startled yelp, falling over backwards as White Diamond cackled once more.

They eventually stopped at a hexagonal doorway. Steven watched as White pressed her palm to the pedestal that was slightly too low for her, and it opened with a chime.

“And _this_ is where you’ll be spending the rest of your days!” she beamed as she gestured proudly into the room.

Steven stepped into what may very well be his cage for the rest of his life and found that it was...surprisingly decent?

Like the rest of White’s palace, it was cold and detached, but at least it wasn’t totally barren. It was a small space, but there were several pieces of furniture; like a square bed, what looked like a simple desk and a chair, and what might be some sort of shelf. There was a window by the desk as well, a small hexagonal portal that gave him a view of the outside. There were no bars, but considering how high up he was, Steven supposed it didn’t really need any. And...wow is that a bathroom?

“I told you I know what your organic form needs to survive,” she reminded him with no small amount of smugness. She had to duck in order to to step into the smaller room. “Had my technicians install it just the other day. Aren’t you grateful?” she asked mockingly.

Steven tried to ignore her. He had been expecting a prison cell like the one he woke up in. This wasn’t _so_ much different, but at least it wasn’t a literal dungeon.

“Well you best get yourself cozy now. Believe it or not, I actually _do_ have more important matters to deal with than you.”

“Your leaving?” Steven felt a flood of relief that she might finally be leaving him alone, and it must have showed because White seemed to notice that.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't be long,” she said. “And _then_...we'll be spending quite a lot of time together, you and I!"

Steven felt his heart sink again.

"Great, I can't wait..." he grumbled.

“I’ll be back to check up on you later. _Ta-ta_ for now~!” With a mocking wave goodbye, White Diamond quickly slipped out of the room and the door slammed shut behind her.

Steven was left alone with the foreboding feeling that this was only a temporary reprieve. But there was nothing else he could do about it. He was stuck here and with nothing pleasant to look forward to. Not wanting to dwell on things he couldn’t control, he chose instead to focus on his immediate surroundings rather than worry about the future.

“Well, might as well take a look around,” he decided and began exploring his new room.

The bed happened to be the first thing that caught his eye, so it was the first thing he checked out. Stepping towards it, he eyed it suspiciously. Despite his initial instinct to try and relax, Steven didn’t jump onto it. He’d had enough surprises today to make him wary of everything. The bed didn’t seem to have a mattress that he could check under, nor was there any bed frame; it just rose out of the ground like a square block with little fanfare. He gave it a cautionary poke, then a few more, before moving up to careful presses of his hand. Nothing happened. It felt normal enough, but he still wasn’t ready to jump in it yet.

Next was the desk, which he went over to and scoped out.

It was a pretty basic setup, a flat desk with a single chair. Through the window, he could see more of Homeworld’s seemingly world-spanning cityscape. On the desk there wasn’t any sort of pencils or drawing utensils that he could recognize, not surprising. But he noticed there was something on it, some sort of device. It was a small, flat, octagonal, green-colored screen about the size of a large dinner plate. A holoscreen, he realized. The same kind he had seen Peridot use countless times before.

“Now why would anyone leave you here?” he asked the little device. Steven curiously picked it up. At his touch, the holoscreen immediately came to life, bathing the room in a green glow as it did. It certainly was a fair question. Why _would_ anyone leave this here? Did someone just forget it by mistake? Or did White Diamond leave it for him to find on purpose? And if that was the case...then what could possibly be on it?

Steven gazed down on the screen with newfound apprehension. Carefully, he began fiddling with it and found that it operated like a touchscreen, just like with Peridot. For a time he sat there, flicking through the screen with his finger, scanning its contents for what grave importance it might hold for him. Finally, he looked back up as he realized,

“I can’t read.”

There were a ton of little shapes and symbols on it, but he had no clue what any of those meant. Were they Gem words or just icons? He couldn’t guess their function just by looking at them either, they were too alien for that. There wasn’t even a mouse pad, or keys, or even a menu that he could see.

When he pressed one of the icons it did...something. What that something _was_ exactly he didn’t know. It just made the screen flicker and change slightly, showing more stuff that he couldn’t read. There was a lot of Gem text. Could be files? He tried selecting some of the other icons, but some didn’t seem to do anything at all while others just caused the screen to flash and beep angrily at him. Locked he guessed. He then tried to go back to where he started but couldn’t find any kind of back button and he was totally lost.

“Well this is a dead end.” Frustrated and disappointed Steven set the holoscreen down and continued to look around. He looked at what he guessed was some kind of drawer and opened it. To his surprise, he found within something familiar.

His Cheeseburger Backpack!

Steven hugged the sandwich-themed bag tightly like it was an old friend. He thought he had lost it on Blue Diamond’s ship and after waking up and finding himself on a alien world, it was nice to hold something that reminded him of home. He zipped it open and checked its contents. It seemed like everything was still there, but it looked like everything had been taken out and then crammed back in again.

“How rude!” Steven frowned. “Who rummages through other people’s things and then just shoves it all back in?” Homeworld’s lack of respect for tidy packing aside, this gave him an idea. Looking back at the bed, he decided to test it out once more and threw his backpack on it to see if something would happen. But there was no reaction. 

“I guess it really is just a bed,” he said aloud to no one but himself.

Without much else to do, he reluctantly got in to try and get some rest. For a while he just laid there, staring up at the ceiling. Outside he could hear the distant hum of Homeworld’s aerial traffic. Steven tried to sleep. But he couldn’t. How could he? He was a million light years from home, trapped on Homeworld, and in the clutches of White Diamond. How could he possibly relax right now?

Steven got out and went over to the door. He looked at the touchpad, the Gem equivalent of a doorknob it seemed. There hadn’t been one in his cell, obviously because then it wouldn’t be a very good prison if he could just walk out. So what did it mean that there was one here? Steven rubbed his chin and patted the pad, half-expecting it to reject him. To his surprise, it chimed and opened for him. Steven had been sure that it would be locked from the outside. But it seemed that White Diamond didn’t actually mind if he left his room. He doubted that she could have simply _forgotten_ to lock the door behind her.

Steven poked his head out. There were no guards around and no other Homeworld Gems passing by, the hallway was completely deserted. It was already strange and no small bit disconcerting, but he didn’t want to stay cooped up inside a cell if he was allowed to walk around. Steven took a few more steps farther out and the door quickly closed behind him. Despite his apprehension, he began walking down the hall.

None of the rules that White had mentioned said anything about simply looking around a little bit. So long as he didn’t try to escape or anything, everything should be fine.

  
Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, took me ages but I did it. Finally posted the next part of this thing. Funny this is I already have Chapter 4 straight up done. But I need to finish Chapter 3 before then.


	6. Do Not Touch

Out of his room, Steven chanced this opportunity to explore his surroundings and wandered the the glimmering, silvery-white halls alone, accompanied only by the scraping sounds of his sandals against the floor. **  
**

Slowly, his natural curiosity began to overpower his earlier caution and he began to examine his environment more closely. Everything was so clinically clean, shiny, and flawless. Despite his circumstances, he couldn’t help but marvel a  _little bit_  at it all. It wasn’t like anything he had ever seen before. Not the Gem ruins on Earth, not Peridot’s ship, not even on Blue Diamond’s ship which was arguably far more ornate than this.

It was beautiful, but it was also strange. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about this place felt more alien than any previous location. There were no windows so he couldn’t see outside or any passage of time. It was cold, both figuratively and literally. Nothing moved or made sound aside from him and without any activity, everything seemed almost frozen in stillness.

After a while, Steven began to notice that a lot of these hallways were looking the same to him and started to worry again. There weren’t any signs or directions that he could see, each hallway was full of near-identical looking doors that he didn’t want to open yet, and branching corridors that he didn’t know where they led. This place was already like a maze to him, so Steven made sure not to overcomplicate his route and tried to stick relatively close to his room. The last thing he wanted was to get lost in this place.

He had a lot of questions running through his mind, but there was one that took precedence right now.

Where was everybody?

Curiously, he hadn’t encountered a single Gem so far. He definitely knew he had seen dozens of Gems earlier that day, but now the vast halls were strangely empty. Either this place was bigger than he initially thought, or there simply weren’t as many Gems. He was so distracted by his surroundings that he failed to notice the two figures watching him from the shadows.

“Well, well, well. Look at what we have here!”

Steven turned around at the unfamiliar voice. Two figures stood in the shadows of a adjacent corridor. One of them, the one who spoke, was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was about as tall as Garnet or perhaps a little taller. They were thin with a wiry build, grey in color, with a wolfish looking face and a grin to match.

At her side was a considerably shorter companion, a squat mint-green Gem with a fin-like shock of white hair on her head and a gemstone on her left shoulder. They resembled a compacted Quartz-like build, but was shorter and broader in stature than the big hulking soldiers he had seen, standing closer to the height of a Ruby but still bigger than one.

“Rose Quartz, in the light! Back on Homeworld and wandering alone all by herself.” The two Gems stepped out and began to approach, stalking towards him. “Wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.” the tall one said. Now Steven could see she had a gemstone where her right ear would be.

“Who’re you?” Steven asked.

“Oh, we’ve never met before. Not personally anyway,” the grey Gem said dismissively.  
  
“But everyone knows you!” the shorter one burst out, giving a sharp grin that Steven immediately did not like.

“That’s right, Calcite. Everybody knows the great and powerful Rose Quartz.” She stepped a little closer. “The infamous turncoat who dragged us all through a thousand years of war.”

Steven felt a chill run down his back. He began taking a few cautionary steps backwards, which the two Homeworld Gems mirrored.

“Wait, you’ve got it all wrong, I’m not Rose Quartz!”

The one called Calcite gave a rough rowdy laugh. “You think we’re stupid, Rose Quartz? You can’t fool me and Howlite! Everybody knows who you are!”

The two closed in on him, corralling him against the wall and cutting off his avenues of escape. Trapped between them, the two Homeworld Gems loomed over him and grinned maliciously, their body language clearly reading as hostile.

“Wait, wait, wait-! If White wanted me dead, wouldn’t she have done so already…? If she wants me alive for something, don’t you think you might get in trouble?”

“Oh really?” the Gem called Howlite smirked. “Tell me then, where do you think everyone is exactly?”

Steven’s eyes widened at what the Gem was implying.

“That’s right, Rosie. Nobody’s here. No Gems, no guards, no witnesses,” She tapped the gemstone on her ear as if to emphasize her point. “Think about it. Why else would she let you run around unattended? It doesn’t take a Kindergartner to realize that she’s practically gift wrapping you for us.”

The gemstone on the side of her head glowed, and from it, she pulled out a savage-looking spiked mace from her head. Howlite hefted the large weapon in her hand and tapped it in her palm threateningly. Meanwhile Calcite had summoned a small but threatening-looking bowie knife from her gemstone and was toying with it in her hands, snickering to herself.

“See, I know my Diamond. If she  _truly_ didn’t want any of her loyal Gems to take a shot at you, then she wouldn’t have left you so wide open.”

With that, she swung her weapon down with vicious force and Steven was just barely able to throw up his bubble in time to stop Howlite’s mace from crushing him. The spike maul was halted, but the weight of it squeezed and compressed the bubble dangerously. Undeterred, the Homeworld Gem began hammering the protective barrier, swinging away with savage strength.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Rose Quartz! Come on out!” Howlite jeered as she bashed the pink bubble again and again in a steady beat like a drum. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to  _shatter_ you. Just want to show you a  _taste_ of what you all  _put us all through_!”

Howlite continued to hammer away at his bubble with a bloodthirsty grin on her face, meanwhile Calcite had her face pressed against the bubble, leering at him evilly through it, waiting for it to burst.

Steven was straining to hold his barrier, but the force of Howlite’s blows were making it difficult for him to even fully stand under this great weight. “This doesn’t make any sense! Why would she go through all this just to order you to attack me?”

“Perhaps…But who’s to say that the devious and dangerous criminal didn’t try to make a break for it? It would be such a understandable misunderstanding. What Diamond wouldn’t forgive their subordinates for such a honest mistake?” She grinned cruelly. “Especially after she attacked two loyal Gems who were just minding their own business.”

“But you’re the ones attacking me!” he said horrified.

“And who exactly do you think she’s going to believe? You? A rebel traitor. Or me? A faithful Gem who has served her loyally since before the Rebellion.”

Steven tried to form a argument but realized that he had none. Howlite was right.

“Oh yes…I think we  _both_ know how well that’ll go.”

Her blows continued unabated. Under the relentless and brutal assault, the bubble was beginning to waver, cracks began to form on the surface. Calcite had joined in and was stabbing away at the barrier with her knife, trying to get at the fearful occupant inside.  
  
By know the weight of the assault had forced Steven to his knees. “PLEASE JUST STOP! Leave me alone!” he pleaded desperately.

“5,000 years too late for that, Rosie!”

The bubble finally collapsed under the enormous strain and dissipated, leaving Steven wide open and defenseless. Howlite raised her mace high over her head with wicked anticipation.

“Oh, I’ve waited a  _long_ time for this…”

Their menacing was swiftly interrupted as a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere and struck the ground behind them. In an angry flash of light and ozone, White Diamond now stood and loomed over them all. All parties turned their heads at unexpected arrival, both sides equally terrified. The Diamond’s face was composed and grinning as usual, but this time her eyes belied lethal displeasure as she glared down at them.

“M-m-m-my Diamond! We were just-” Howlite never got a chance to finish her excuse as White Diamond seized her and Calcite both by the back of the collar and lifted them clear off the ground.

White dangled them high up above the floor by the scruff of the neck like two naughty children caught stealing. The two looked positively diminutive compared to the towering Diamond and they only seemed to shrink further in the face of her wrath. She hoisted them closer and hissed in their ears.

“I said. Do. Not.  _Touch_!”

Ignoring the sound of the two underlings’ protests, she vanished in a flash of electricity, taking the two helpless Gems with her.

Steven would never see them again.

He was left shaking where he stood, hearting pounding, words refusing to form in his throat.

Everything was so quiet now, until Steven realized that White Diamond may be coming back for him for leaving the room. Fear seizing him again, Steven bolted back to his room as quickly as he humanly could. He ran through the doorway and slammed it shut behind him with a smack of the pad. It was dark inside as outside he could see that night had finally fallen.

To his distress, he realized there was no lock on the door, and that anyone could still come through. Steven retreated as far back from the door as possible, huddling himself into the corner of the room, and just stayed there. The only source of light there came from the soft beam of starlight that came through his window. There he sat for what felt like hours, terrified, watching the door in fear that someone might come through.

But, nobody did. Nobody came for him that night.

Eventually, after a unknowable length time shivering alone in the dark, his weariness was finally getting the better of him. Since he had woken up today, Steven had found himself trapped on Homeworld, had met a crazy Diamond who had it out for him, had nearly died at least once, had been blackmailed with the fate of the Earth, and now  _this_ happened. He was too tired for this, it was time to give it a rest for the night.

Steven climbed into the bed, hoping to finally put this horrible day behind him. He laid his head to rest, head facing the window with its glittering starry view. His eyelids were heavy and drooping, but as he rested his cheek on the pillow, he winced as he felt a sharp pang on his cheek where White Diamond had pinched it. He rubbed the bruise irritably and tossed over to lay down the other side of his face, turning his back to the window.

If he hadn’t, Steven might have noticed that tonight the night sky had two more twinkling lights than usual.

But he never would.

As high above in Homeworld’s atmosphere, those two lights slowly fell and flickered out…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this was a tough one for me to write but today I post two chapters instead of one. Chapter 4's was done long before this one but of course I had to finish 3 before I post 4.
> 
> Thanks again to all the people who left comments and asked about this hope you enjoy!


	7. The Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven meets some new, yet familiar, faces

Morning came and Steven’s first conscious thought was the realization that he was still alive. Which was good, it meant that no one had come after him, so it was probably safe to assume that no one was planning on harassing him for now. Still, he was afraid to open his eyes. He didn’t want to be reminded where he was, that he was still trapped. He wanted to enjoy the comforting illusion that he was back in his bed, safe at home, and not in a glorified jail cell in the middle of Homeworld.

Finally gathering the courage to open his eyes, he found that everything was exactly how he remembered leaving it. Nothing had been moved, everything was in its place, and the door was still closed. But despite that, there was still a feeling of tension in the air. He was afraid that White was waiting for him behind the door. Just waiting to pounce when he’d least expect it and carry him off again for who knows what.

Steven went to the door and after a little hesitation, opened it, bracing himself for what might be waiting for him on the other side. But the doors parted to reveal no one behind them. He poked his head out and looked around. The coast was clear, just like before. There was no one in sight. It occurred to him that this might be a less well-traveled area of the palace. That or White Diamond may have ordered her Gems to avoid his room. Either way, he didn’t want to assume that meant he was safe. But no good would come from just staying in his room. They could come for him at any time if they wanted to, so he might as well explore a bit.

Wandering around the empty pristine halls, this time he did not venture as far as he did before. Last night’s incident still fresh in his mind, he consciously kept his path well within close proximity to his room. Steven supposed he should have felt at least some sense of relief that White had apparently declared him off-limits to attack. But in all honesty, the chilling feeling of unease hadn’t vanished. Perhaps it was because in the back of his mind, he couldn’t forget White’s promise; “ _We’ll be spending quite a lot of time together, you and I_!“

Steven winced. He doubted that this mandate was in any way for his benefit. It was possible that White just wanted to keep him all to herself to torment, and honestly, he couldn’t tell if that was better or worse. Maybe both? Who knows.

But what concerned him most right now was the fact that someone was  _definitely_ following him.

Behind him he could hear the sound of very soft footsteps. Steven turned around but saw that no one was there. “Hm,” he hummed and turned back around to keep on walking. But after a few moments had past the sounds of the footsteps resumed and he looked back again. “Is anyone there?”

Nothing seemed to move so he turns around and prepared to walk off again. But as he turned he already heard the unmistakable sound of someone discreetly, but swiftly, moving between hiding places. Steven whirled around, ready to summon his shield against any assailant, and he spotted someone hiding behind a pillar. “Alright, I know your there. Come on out!”

A pair of big sky-blue eyes peeked out from behind it, spying on him curiously. They had a distinctive pointy nose and a round pale gemstone on their forehead.

“Pearl…?”

No, wait. It wasn’t Pearl. Steven realized he was looking at a different Pearl. She certainly  _looked_ like Pearl; she had the same spindly build, the same facial features, and even had the same nose. But this Pearl was a lot paler in color, wearing a white and grey frilly outfit, and unlike Pearl, the gemstone on her head was round. Instead of a pixie cut, her hair was in a large wispy flared bob.

“Eep!” the unknown Pearl squeaked and ran off.  
  
“Wait, don’t run!” Steven called and ran after them.

The other Pearl quickly turned a corner that led into another hallway. But when Steven followed he found she had vanished. Steven stopped running and looked around for where the unknown Pearl had scampered off to. There wasn’t anywhere to hide behind, it was just a empty hallway. And the other end of the hallway was too far away for her to have possibly rounded the other corner already.

Steven searched around until he noticed that the patterns on the wall was slightly broken in one place. Upon closer inspection, Steven sees that one section of the wall was slightly pushed in, like a door, and realized that he was looking at the entrance to a hidden passageway. Or at least, it was hidden until someone forgot to close it all the way. Did the other Pearl go through here? Seemed likely. He pushed the door farther opened and peered in.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” he called but nobody answered. He leaned in a little farther but couldn’t see anyone. “You don’t have to run, I just want to talk.”

Steven stepped inside and closed the door behind him, it seemed rude to leave someone else’s door wide open, and made his way forward. Inside it was pretty narrow compared to the main halls, which were huge galleries that a Fusion would have no trouble walking in. As he continued on, up ahead, Steven could several voices talking, all of them speaking in hushed whispers.

“You know your not supposed to be snooping around! You could have gotten yourself into BIG trouble!”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it…”

“So, what were they like?”

“Don’t encourage her!”

“I don’t know? Small, I guess? I didn’t get to see much…”

“Well what were they doing?”

“What did she  _just_ say?!”

“Nothing…just walking around. They weren’t really doing much of anything.”

Steven finally caught up to the sound of the commotion. There was the Mystery Pearl, but she wasn’t alone. Steven could see she talking with a whole  _group_ of other Pearls. There was one with a navy blue complexion whose hair covered her eyes in a manner than reminded him of Moppy, a dark red one with her hair swept over her right eye, a yellow one who was looking very nervous right now, and a gray one who somehow looked much older than the rest. They were all huddled together whispering amongst themselves.

“So many Pearls…” he whispered in amazement. No wonder this place was always so clean.

They heard that and now they noticed him. A couple of them shrieked and the red and gray ones leapt in front of the others, taking up a protective stance.

“How did you get in here? Stay back or we’ll call the guards!”

“Seriously? What are they going to do, lock me up again? I’m already being held prisoner here. Besides I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Then why were you following Pearl?” the red one said, her visible eye narrowing in suspicion.  
  
“But she was the one who was following me!” Steven protested. “I just wanted to ask her why.”

“How did you find this place?” another one demanded.  
  
“Um, the door was open?” Steven pointed behind him.

The other Pearls turned to the white one, who was now blushing furiously.

“Sorry guys…” the white-colored Pearl apologized meekly.

“Oh, sweetie…See what happens when you stick your nose in matters that don’t concern you?” the grey-colored one chided her gently.

“Who cares about any of that?” the yellow-one suddenly burst out, as if she had been holding in that outburst for the entire conversation. “We’re speaking to White Diamond’s  _most prized prisoner_! If anyone finds out we were consorting with a infamous war criminal, we could all be punished! Decommissioned! Or worse!” She buried her face in her hands with a dramatic wail.  
  
“Woah, hey there, it’s alright…I promise, I’m not going to tell anyone,” Steven told them reassuringly.  
  
“Your not?” she looked up sharply, surprise written on her face.  
  
“Well, why would I?”

“Because— Well I mean— I suppose you could always…? YOU’RE THE— Hmm…” The yellow-colored Pearl stopped sputtering now as she held her chin in thought. “…Huh. I guess  _not_. Well okay then!” she said, grinning widely and suddenly becoming upbeat rather quickly.

“So, why were you spying on me anyway?”

“We heard rumors that White Diamond had brought the infamous Rose Quartz herself to the palace…and I got curious,” the white-colored Pearl admitted, twiddling her fingers sheepishly.  
  
“By we she means  _me_ by the way,” the blue one spoke up, poking out from behind the others and sounding quite pleased with herself. She parted the curtain of hair from her eyes, revealing them to be quite lively and mischievous. “I overheard a pair of Chrysocolla who just couldn’t stop talking about the whole thing. All the Courts are positively  _abuzz_ with speculation right now.”

“ _Another_ thing we’re going to have a talk about later…” the gray one cast a reprimanding glance her way.

“Do I  _look_ like Rose Quartz to you?” Steven asked the blue-colored Pearl, putting his hands on his sides, a single eyebrow raised.   
  
“Wouldn’t know. Never seen a Rose Quartz before,” she answered back, looking to the others. “None of us have.”

They all nodded in agreement before she ducked back behind the red one again.  
  
“Oh.”

Weird, considering how much everyone on Homeworld seems to go on about his mom, you’d think her face would be more well known around here. It would certainly make his case a whole lot easier!

“If your not Rose Quartz, then how could you be White Diamond’s  _top_ priority and NOT be dangerous?” the red one questioned.   
  
“But I didn’t DO anything!” Steven protested. “White Diamond thinks that I’m Rose Quartz and no matter what I say she won’t believe me!”  
  
The gray-colored Pearl let out a small ‘hmm’ which immediately captured the other Pearls’ attention. She folded her arms and seemed to scrutinize him. Was she passing judgment on him? Finally, she spoke.

“Sounds like something she’d do. I’ve been here long enough to know that you don’t need to do anything to get on her bad side. Once she’s convinced of something, nothing changes her mind.”

“How in all the stars in space did you manage to get the supreme matriarch of Homeworld so fixated on you? Some Gems have tried all their lives to just be noticed by her and you’ve somehow gained her undivided attention!”

Now THAT was a long story.

“It wasn’t anything  _I_  did…” Steven realized he would have to start from the beginning.  “Well, first off, I’m from Earth and I’m human,” he told them. “Homeworld put this big giant geo-weapon inside of it called the Cluster and it would destroy the Earth when it emerged. We tried to stop it with a drill, but it didn’t work. So made I deal with Blue Diamond, that if I surrendered myself, then she’d stop the Cluster from destroying the Earth. But she didn’t do anything! Instead she just dumped me on Homeworld and now White Diamond has me!”  
  
“Yup, definitely sounds like something Blue Diamond would do.”

The others looked to the blue-colored one who was resting her chin lazily on the red one’s shoulder. She noticed everyone staring at her now and seemed to mull it over in her head.

“Well…I  _did_ hear a lot of gossip about Blue Diamond having this strange new alien hybrid that she picked up from Earth. Something about them being her new ‘Artistic Assistant’ or something.”

“Aesthetic Advisor,” Steven corrected.  
  
“That’s the one! That plus what Pearl here was saying…it  _does_ seem to add up?”

The Pearls all looked back to Steven.

“So then, who are you?”

“Well, my name’s Steven, Steven Universe. It’s nice to meet you all!”  Steven greeted them with an earnest smile. “So what are all your names?”

“We’re Pearls,” the gray one answered him plainly.

“Right, but what do I actually call you guys?”  
  
“Pearl,” she said again.  
  
“Okay but, if I just say ‘Pearl’, and you’re all here, how will you know which one of you I’m talking to?”  
  
“Why would it matter?”  
  
Steven stared at her momentarily at a loss for words. It was just so strange and disturbing to hear someone say that so matter-of-factly. “Because it’s important that’s why!”

“Well if it helps, I am DG-01117. You’ve already met WA-10067, and these are DL-20083, CR-31004, and CY-16009.”

“Got it, so, DJ-017—”

“D _G_ -01… _11_ 7,” she corrected him matronly, emphasizing each individual digit that he missed.

“Oh right, DG-01117 and…” He looked at the other Pearls and realized he had already forgotten. “Yeah, I’m not going to be able to remember all that. Sorry.”

“Well then, what would you suggest?” the older-looking Pearl said, folding her arms impatiently.

“How about…” He thought about it for a moment and then rang out a series of nicknames. “Sweety, Berry, Cherry, Chammy, and…Gray!” he said, pointing at each of them correspondingly as he did.  
  
“Why those words specifically?” Gray asked curiously with Berry peeking out from behind her now.

“Well,” he pointed to Sweety. “That’s what the others called you, sweetie. And! Your colored just like sugar. So it’s even more fitting!”

He turned to Berry. “You because you’re blue like a blueberry.”

“What’s a blueberry?” asked Berry.

Then to Cherry. “You because you’re red like a cherry.”

“What’s a cherry?” asked Cherry.

Then Chammy. “You remind me a bunch of this one champagne commercial from back home. Someone would serve it at a fancy dinner party where its all quiet and dignified, but when someone finally opened it, it’d just exploded all over the place and everyone would laugh.”

“Ohh, I see!” said Chammy. “…What’s a champagne?”

“I’ll uh…explain it later…” Steven said with a sheepish grin.

Finally he turned back to Gray. “And you because you’re…um, gray.”

“Wait, why am I the only the one who doesn’t get a nickname that rhymes?” she complained.

“Oh, uh…okay then. How about Granny?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone who’s way older than the others and who also looks after them,” he explained. “And it rhymes!”

“ _I’m not that old_!” Gray screeched indignantly while the others suppressed their laughter with varying degrees of effort and success.

“Says the oldest Pearl in the entire palace,” Chammy teased now as she leaned on Gray’s shoulder. “You were old before any of us had even been ordered!” She got a light elbow in the rib for her cheekiness.

Gray was irked but did seem to think about it nonetheless. “Hm, well, other than the theme consistency, ‘Gray’ seems appropriate enough.”

“I like mine. Sweety!” Sweety clapped her hands happily.

“Yeah…that certainly fits you alright,” Cherry muttered, but not without a small smile.

“Speak for yourself, Cherry. If you don’t start  _cherr-ing_  up more I’m going to have to start calling you ‘Cranky’ instead!” Berry said, poking the other Pearl playfully in the cheek. 

“They should have called you ‘ _Blabby_ ’ instead,” Cherry grumbled.

“That’s the spirit!”

“That’s even not a real word,” Gray pointed out flatly.   
  
“It is now,  _Granny_!”

“ _You never even heard of that word until just now_!” the older Pearl squawked angrily.

“Oh and if only I had known sooner…” Chammy sighed wistfully.

“You do look after us a lot,” Sweety pointed out innocently.  
  
“Oh my stars, Sweety.”

The atmosphere began to settle down as the Pearls started getting lost in their bantering. Steven took a step back and let them enjoy themselves, sitting down and delighting in the sight of a bunch of friendly faces joking and laughing amongst each other. Eventually he got curious again and broached a question.

“Boy, there sure are a lot of you. Were you all made for White Diamond?”

“Well ‘Sweety’ here was, but many of us were not,” Gray replied, to which the white-colored Pearl nodded fervently. “I was originally made to serve a Hematite foreman.”

“Well, how did you get here then?”

“She failed to perform a task given to her by White Diamond. So I was repossessed to serve here in the Palace,” she explained. “Pretty common story for a Pearl around here really,” The others nodded their heads in agreement.

“What happened to Hematite?”  
  
Gray’s eyes darted away. “I don’t know. I never saw her again.”  
  
“Oh…” Steven decided to quickly change the topic. “So…what’s it like working in the palace?”

“Depends on who you ask,” Gray shrugged. “Personally, I don’t find it so bad. No one bothers you so long as you do your job. Which is more than I can say for serving a grouchy Hematite.”  
  
“I preferred serving Blue Diamond’s Court…” Berry pouted.  
  
“You preferred not having to do anything,” Cherry remarked cheekily, to which Berry puffed her cheek crossly.  
  
“I haven’t served anywhere else,” was all Sweety could add.

Steven looked to Chammy expectantly, but she just remains silent, now avoiding eye contact with him and fiddling with her hands.  
  
“So who did you work for, Chammy?” he asked.  
  
“Who? Oh me? Oh, I haven’t seen her in 5,000 years. Left us at a temple by ourselves with nothing to do but clean the same empty shrines and effigies for centuries while she took off in a stolen spaceship to stars knows where. Boredom and monotony became our daily routine, cleaning the same spots over and over again, including of course that one accursed spot that WOULDN’T STOP GETTING DUSTY NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU CLEANED IT! But I know she’ll be back any time now!”

“Oooookay then…” Steven said putting his hands up and warily backing off.

“Yeeeeah, she gets a bit weird whenever someone brings up her owner. I’d avoid bringing it up if I were you,” Cherry advised him.

“So almost all you guys were moved here from somewhere else? Is it normal for you guys to just be moved around without any warning?”  
  
“White Diamond’s always done that. She’s nothing if not efficient,” said Gray.  
  
“Don’t forget crazy,” Steven added dryly.

“And terrifying!” Sweety agreed.  
  
“But these days it’s much more difficult for the Authority to simply replace Gems whenever they want to. Especially Pearls.”

Steven remembered the Prime Kindergarten back on Earth, where thousands of Gems had been made for Homeworld on a industrial scale. He found it hard to believe that they could ever have trouble making new Gems.

“Really? When did that happen?”

“Where have you been for the last 5,000 years, living under a rock?”

“Mostly not existing actually,” Steven said.

“Just how old are you anyway?” Gray asked, giving him a curious look. “No offense intended, but you seem awfully rough cut to end up so far on White Diamond’s bad side.”  
  
“Thirteen,” he responded.  
  
“Just thirteen centuries? Oh dear, so young. Even Sweety is little more than a thousand years old.”  
  
“No, I mean thirteen years.”  
  
At that a swift silence fell over them all.

“Oh…” Gray breathed, clearly appalled.

Cherry and Berry both visibly cringed and looked at each other.

“I wasn’t even out of Pearl training that soon…” Chammy said, a hand going to her mouth.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Sweety ran to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Steven was momentarily taken aback, at a loss for words. Since he had gotten here, he had been terrorized, dangled over the edge of a precipice, threatened, blackmailed, and even attacked. It had been ages since the last time he received physical affection. Not since the last hug Peridot gave him on Blue Diamond’s ship. That wasn’t all, it also felt familiar. It was same bony shoulders he had felt so many times, like Pearl, “his” Pearl, was right here with him.

Finally, Sweety broke off her hug and Steven asked. “I don’t get it, I was told Gems emerge fully grown with all the information they ever need already in their head. Why are you all so surprised?”

It was Gray who answered. “We’re not soldiers that we burst out of the ground ready to fight. Its true that we do start out with our basic skills and knowledge preset to the recipient’s specifications, but we’re usually trained for  _at least_  a good quarter-century before we’re presented to our owners. To ensure our service is without flaw,” she told him. “We’re not just thrown into the rock-crusher fresh out of the nursery!”

“Yeah well, if every porkchop were perfect…” he sighed.

Speaking of being thrown back into the rock-crusher, Steven realized that he was going to have to leave this place eventually. This had been the first bit of real safety and comfort that he had felt in the last couple of days, but that was exactly why he couldn’t stay. He didn’t want to go back to dealing with the crazy Diamond, but if White decided to come looking for him…

“Welp, I suppose it’s time for me to start heading back now,” he said getting up now and brushing off his pants.

“You actually want to go  _back_ out there?” Chammy said horrified. “Why don’t you just stay here? These servant passageways run all throughout the entire palace. You could stay out of sight  _and_ out of White Diamond’s crosshairs!”

“Thanks, but if I do that she’ll probably think I’m trying to escape, and I don’t want you guys to get in trouble. I already saw what happens to people who make her mad…I don’t that to happen to you.”

Gray gave a soft, appreciative smile.

“Well good luck then, little one. You’re definitely going to need it,” she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder reassuringly. Then she turned back to the others and clapped her hands together twice. “C’mon Pearls, back to work before someone notices.”

They opened the entrance door just a crack and cautiously looked around to see if the coast is clear. Seeing that it was, they gave him the all-clear sign and let him out. Steven stepped back out into the brightly lit corridor he had come from. He walked forward a bit before looking back one last time at the Pearls who were still huddled at the mouth of the entrance. He waved them goodbye with a smile and they waved him back before finally shutting the door.

Steven was left alone in the cold hallways again, back in the belly of the beast. But this time he somehow managed to have a warm feeling in his chest. It was no small comfort to know that, despite being a literally millions of lightyears away from home, trapped in the heart of Homeworld, and in the personal lair of possibly the worst person in the galaxy, there were still friendly faces here.

And that made him hopeful.   
  
Taking a deep breath, Steven continued down his path, onto whatever waited for him next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loved writing this one, was a lot of fun. And ended up being the longest chapter so far!


	8. Unfamiliar Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven is introduced to some very unfamiliar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, sorry for the wait, this one was a tough one for me to write. Funnily enough, I was almost done with it when Together Alone was released, was a interesting comparison to see. Strange how I seem to update when something big happens. Hope you enjoy! The next two chapters should hopefully be easier to make.

Steven continued to walk around aimlessly. It had been a while since he had bidden the gang of Pearls farewell. He had expected something to happen soon after but, nothing had changed yet.  
  
“Sure is quiet,” Steven said aloud to no one but himself. "I'm not lost am I?"

Seriously, where WAS everyone? The Pearls may be using the discrete passageways, but you’d think that _someone_ would be using all these giant hallways!

Wait.

Steven stopped in his tracks and lifted his nose up. That was odd. He could smell something. It was familiar...

Rain?

A bright burst of light erupted beside him and before Steven could even react, White Diamond’s massive heel sailed over his head, grazing his hair, and barely missing him before smashing into the wall next to him. The loud crack of thunder shook the halls less than a second later. By then Steven had fallen over in sheer shock. White Diamond was already crouching over him, grinning broadly like she hadn't just nearly kicked his head off.

“Hiya Rosie! Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Steven remarked as he picked himself back up and dusted himself off.  
  
“Oh yes, _terribly_ sorry about last night,” she apologized unconvincingly. “It seems that some of my Gems didn’t quite understand some of my instructions.” She turned and motioned for him to follow her, her leering smirk almost challenging him to do otherwise. Reluctantly, Steven complied and began walking behind her.

“Shame that we couldn’t spend more time together the other day, I had to... _reiterate_ some instructions to my Court,” she prattled on. “But don’t worry, that won’t be a problem anymore. And to make up for it, today, I’ve cleared my entire schedule, just for you!”

Steven could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up. Whether it was from the static electricity that the Diamond passively gave off or out of fear he couldn’t say. Probably both.

“After all, it’s just been so long since we last saw each other. We have so much time to make up for!”

“But you saw me just last night!”

“Yeah and doesn’t that just feel like forever ago?”

They continued on a while into halls and corridors that Steven was certain he hadn’t been in before. White Diamond was looking ahead, but Steven could still feel her attention fixed firmly on him, almost piercing him. Was she waiting for something?

As if sensing his thoughts she spoke up again. “I do hope you got a chance to enjoy all the paraphernalia I left for you. I didn’t want you to get _bored_ , so I left you some rather choice reading material.”

“Well that depends, what was all that?” he asked her.

“What?” she stopped looked back down at him rather suddenly.

“Your talking about all that Gem stuff on the screen, right?” he said. “What was all that?”

“What... _was it..._?” she echoed with a strange tone in her voice. Was it just him, or did White Diamond actually look perplexed? If she was, then she recovered quickly. “Oh, hahahaha! I see how it is. Nice try, Rosie, but it’s going to take more than a dumb little act to fool me.”

“But, I can’t _read_ Gem, so I don’t know what any of it said!” Steven insisted. “I couldn’t figure out how to use it. None of the little icons on the screen said what they did and I couldn’t tell by just looking at them. I mean, one of the symbols was literally just two little dots with a triangle under it. Like, what does that even MEAN! What is it, an arrow? A smiley face? A _lamp_? I CAN'T TELL. So I tried clicking some of the things to see what they did, and some stuff happened but I had no idea what it actually did. There wasn’t even a keyboard. Do I type things out or do I have to write the words? Also, i’m pretty sure the computer kept auto correcting me, even though I didn’t know what I was spelling to begin with!”

Steven finally stopped to catch his breath. “Gem computers are so confusing…” he sighed, scratching his head. Craning his head to look up at her, he asked, “Does Homeworld have tech support?”

White Diamond seemed to be restraining a response, her face briefly distorting between several fleeting expressions, all ruthlessly suppressed the moment they surfaced. After a moment, she seemed to regain her composure and took a deep breath before continuing.

“No matter! I know exactly what we’re going to do today,” she said as she turned around and they continued onwards.

Eventually, they came to a set of great doors, two massive alabaster panels that guarded the way forward. With deceptive ease, White Diamond pushed the gargantuan doors wide open and ushered him in. As Steven stepped inside, White announced behind him, “Welcome to the Rotunda! Where my Court likes to mingle and play their little games.”

They entered in a great circular room with a domed roof. Inside it was unnaturally well lit, no small thanks in part to the huge oculus staring down them from above and the walls were punctuated in regular intervals by towering columns. The chamber radiated the same frigid beauty as the rest of the palace. In the center of it all was the icon of Homeworld emblazoned on the floor.

Crowds of Gems were milling about the place, murmuring in so many different tones. Steven could hear discussion, gossiping, laughing, arguing, and snickering, some in hushed voices, others in shrill ones. There were Gems of all shapes and sizes here, most of them he had never seen before, even on Blue Diamond's ship. Some were human shaped, others not so much. A few stood taller than the rest, though none as tall as White Diamond. Some had two eyes, others three, some only one, and a few he couldn’t see if they had any at all. He looked up and saw that there were some Gems perched high up on the ceiling, looking down on them with glowing white eyes and wings of fire on their backs.

Is this where everyone’s been hiding? It still didn’t seem enough to explain the whole palace being seemingly empty. Their arrival drew the attention of the crowds. In perfect unison, the assembled Gems all snapped to salute.

No one moved. In the air there was whispering, barely audible. It came from all around, the hushed sounds of questions, confusion, and even some snickering. Gems shared small glances as they watched him, whispering to each other. Steven felt a hundred eyes fixed upon him. It made him uneasy, being at the center of so much attention, and their gazes made him squirm.

“Who are all they?” he asked.

“Courtiers and sycophants of my personal Court,” White Diamond answered him. “They’re all here to see you, Rose! There are Gems here who would absolutely just **kill** for the chance to meet you again.”

It was different from Blue Diamond’s Court. The Gems here weren’t all as opulent and ostentatiously dressed as them, or acting carefree like they were heading off to a party. Though there were certainly some who seemed to be lavish, many of them looked more strict and business-like in appearance. Among them he could see soldiers, wearing uniforms, suits of armor, and carrying sheathed weapons. Ones who looked like scientists, in outfits that resembled lab coats, wearing mechanical limb enhancers and addressing floating holographic screens like Peridot did, and many many others who he couldn’t begin to guess what their jobs were just by looking at them, but all of them seemed rather important.

White Diamond put a cold hand on his shoulder as she knelt down to closer his level. “Look around you. See any familiar faces?”  
  
“Familiar?” He scanned the crowds. Nope. There wasn’t anyone he had met before. “You just brought me here, how am I supposed to recognize anyone?”

“Really? Not even someone in particular…? Like say, an old friend perhaps?”

“An old friend?” He looked back through the crowd. “No...I don’t see anyone.”

“Look _carefully…_ ”

“I still don’t see anyone.”

“ _Try again_!”

“ _I don’t see anyone_!” he insisted.

White Diamond rose back up to her full height and let out a breath of irritation.

“Right then, the hard way it is.”

Steven didn’t like the sound of that. But before he could say anything, White had already picked him up by the back of the shirt and deposited him in the center of the room.

She clapped her hands together twice. “Now then, let’s finally get this party _started_!” Her teeth parted with anticipation.

A rather intense and severe-looking Gem stepped forward. She was tall and had a orange complexion and pale yellow hair that noticeably swept across her face. She wore a long military-style greatcoat, complete with shoulder tassels, heavy jackboots, and a flowing cape. Her eyes were sharp and intimidating, furrowed with displeasure. In her gloved hands, she gripped a saber and stood with both hands resting on the pommel.

“I’ll just let you two get reacquainted,” White Diamond said and she stepped back, leaving Steven with the new Gem.

The tall orange Gem spoke, “Rose Quartz...I bet you thought you had seen the last of me?”

“Huh?”

“I admit, I thought it was the end of me when I fell from the Sky Arena. I’m sure you thought me shattered. But you were wrong. I _survived_ , and have spent everyday waiting for the chance to face you again.

Steven was confused. "I'm sorry, but, who're you?"

“ _Who am I_?” she balked. “Don’t mock me, Rose Quartz! We fought during the Rebellion!”

Steven blinked at the Gem. “Um, okay…?”

White Diamond leaned in from behind. “This is General Orange _Spessartine_ ! She was on Earth during your little insubordination and has been absolutely **dying** to meet you again ever since.”  
  
“Oh. Hi Spessartine, I’m Steven!”

Orange Spessartine looked him over distastefully. “You’ve reformed since the last time we met,” she noted. “How repugnant. I never understood your obsession with organic lifeforms.”

“Sheesh, what is everyone’s _deal_ with organic people?”

”It doesn’t matter. Organic or not, you’ve finally been brought to justice. But before you face your sentence, we still have a matter of unfinished business, you and I.” She took up her sword and inspected it’s blade. “We never got to finish our last duel, did we? I’ve been looking forward a long time to finally settling the score with you. This time, you’ll be the one on the ground humiliated.”

"Oh geez, it’s like talking to Jasper all over again..." Steven groaned.  “Only Jasper was a whole lot louder.”

“A Jasper?”

“You’re even orange and have a cape like her.”

“You... _do_ remember me, don’t you?”  
  
“Of course not, we’ve never met before!”

“ _Never met before_?! I was in command of Homeworld’s forces in Facet-1 on Earth!” Spessartine bristled. “I foiled all your attempts to destroy the Galaxy Warp!”

"This is probably going to sound strange, but, your not going to headbutt me are you?"

The Gem General looked off-put by his remark.

“I held the Igneous Citadel for fifty-five days against your rebels! I fought you personally at the battles for the Corestone and the Abyssal Shrine!”

Steven could only stare blankly at them. Did these people seriously expect him to know about things he wasn’t there for?

Spessartine’s eyebrow twitched with irritation. “Your insane Pearl cut through half of my Imperial Garnets!”

“She did? I wonder if they’re anything like regular Garnet...”

“Those were my hand-picked elite troops!”

“Really? Wooooow, she’s so cool! I mean, I always knew Pearl was strong. But I’ve only ever seen her fight corrupted Gems before. Then again, she did fight Sugilite by herself and won...” he recalled. “Wait, they were alright afterwards right?” he asked, suddenly concerned again. “Your soldiers?”

Rather than respond, Spessartine seemed to totally deflate and sank to her knees.

“I...I couldn’t have been so forgettable, could I?”

“Well hey now, don’t feel so bad...”

“You don’t even remember me. After everything I’ve done, all my battles and accomplishments, am I worth not even a footnote?”

"No no no! I’m sure you were totally formidable! I mean, you were SUPER scary when you walked in here. You’ve got the cool cape and the sword so you’re already pretty intimidating. But I don't have any of Rose's memories because, like I keep telling everyone, I'm not Rose Quartz.” He gave the Homeworld Gem a pat on the back but she didn’t seem to notice.

What was the point of all this? He looked back and could see that White was watching him, her eyes following his face closely. The moment he looked, she locked eyes with him, bright and piercing.

What was she looking for?

She gestured to someone, to whom Steven couldn’t see, and several more intimidating figures step forward now.

There were four of them, all of varying heights and colors.

The first one to step forward was a very tall dark blue Gem. She was built like a Quartz, but taller and thinner. She wore some sort of band of spiked iron around her head, with an embroidered blue shawl draped loosely over her shoulders.

“I am Imperial Blue Topaz, Facet-2B7L Cut-7IX, Inquisitor of Blue Diamond’s Court,” The Gem glowered down at him. “And I remember _you_.”  
  
“I’m sorry, but I don’t-”  
  
“DON’T YOU _DARE_ PLAY THAT GAME WITH ME!” She marched forward and stuck an accusing finger in his face. “We were the first loyal Gems to be struck down by your betrayal!”

The Topaz told him her story. How she and thirty-four other Imperial Topazes had been summoned to somewhere called the Matroneum. Apparently, Imperial Topazes were telepaths and were used to root out disloyal Gems. She said that Rose knew they would have discovered her plans, so she silenced them first. The sword stroke that started the war.

“Thirty-four Gems, cut down before we even had a chance to defend ourselves! You didn’t say anything. Didn’t explain yourself or even tell us why you were doing this, just summoned your rebels and wordlessly started cutting us down!”

Could she be mistaken? His mom couldn’t have poofed them without having at least asking them to join her, could she?

“Before you destroyed my physical form, I asked you ‘Why?’. Remember what you said?”

Steven didn’t get a chance to respond.

“ _Nothing_. You didn’t even answer me! It was only until after we had been rescued that we learned that you used the opportunity to declare war against your own people!”

Another one stepped forward, this one shorter and fiery red with a temper match.

“I’m Commander Cinnabar, Facet-4F1C Cut-4HO, and I was in command of Homeworld’s forces during the battle of Magma Pyra,” she growled. This one told of a battle across a volcanic plain. In a furious tirade, she claimed that Rose Quartz that lured them into a trap. They had been laying siege to a volcanic Crystal Gem base, bombarding it with light cannons. When the time finally came to attack, the ground became unstable, which triggered a massive volcanic fissure which claimed many Homeworld soldiers. She claimed that Rose Quartz had set off the fissure on purpose in order to route them.

“But the Crystal Gems were trying to stop all the senseless destruction on Earth!”

“That is highly doubtful,” A new voice said.

She was taller than Cinnabar and colored brilliant green. In a way, she reminded Steven of Peridot, in how almost robotic she seemed. Her hair was geometric, a triangular block that shot forward at an angle. Her body was built like a stack of cylinders connect one to another, her robust chest sitting atop a narrow torso. On her limbs were what Steven thought were limb enhancers, but upon closer inspection realized that those _were_ her limbs.

“Metatorbernite, Facet-13N5J Cut-5SC, and your rebellion was full of acts of senseless destruction,” Her voice clipped with a clinical tone.

She claimed that his mother’s rebellion that sent the Gem race spiralling into a resource crisis. According to them, Gems these days “couldn’t even function” without limb enhancers thanks to her. She also said that the rebels had hunted down freshly-made Amethysts in the Prime Kindergarten, simply to deny them to the Diamonds, and to further cripple Homeworld’s ability to offset their losses by using them to conquer another planet. A bunch of floating screens around her showed images of shards somewhere that could only have been the Prime Kindergarten.

“Most Metatorbernites have been tasked for the last 5,000 years with finding a solution to the crisis, without success. But now that you're here, maybe we’ll be able get some use out of _you_.”

Steven was in disbelief and shook his head. He just couldn’t imagine any of the Crystal Gems shattering anybody. “The Amethyst I know is from there! I don’t believe the Crystal Gems could DO something like that!”

“Oh _don’t_ you now?”

He turned and saw he was being confronted by a black-colored gem with golden-brown bands across her face and body. Her uniform was simple, closer to what Steven had seen Peridot and Jasper wearing. Steven got the impression she wasn't quite as important as these other gems.

“I’m Golden Obsidian, my facet and cut don’t matter, because what I say goes for all Gems who had nothing to do with your war.”

She was a mid-level manager, directing lower level workers in their jobs. To bring the colonization of Earth to a halt, the Crystal Gems sabotaged something called the Alluvium, something Golden Obsidian called “a terraforming drainage network”. The resulting floodwaters washed away dozens of structures and construction sites, along with the workers who were building them. Many Gems were broken in the collapsing debris.

“We weren’t soldiers, or aristocrats, we just minded our own business and did our jobs. But we STILL had to suffer the consequences for your actions! Yeah, the meatbags got to stay dry, but our life’s work was destroyed! And some of us with it!” She leaned into him. “Was one planet of short-lived primitives worth all our lives? Was _that_ fighting for our freedom!”

Steven tried to back away, trying put some distance between himself and the angry crowd, only to walk right into White Diamond’s leg. The Diamond had appeared behind him, cutting off his path of escape. Smiling, she put a foot under him, lifted him up, and tossed him back into the fray.

Steven landed back in the shadows of his accusers.

The yelling had grown louder. Each of the four were yelling something at him, what he couldn’t make out anymore over the din that was now deafening him. The Court had been inflamed by each round of accusations, each one whipping them further into a frenzy. They had surged closer now, mob-like.

As the mob began to close in around him, he happened to notice just through their jostling forms, a single gem was remaining completely still. For a brief fleeting moment, through the crowd he saw that there one person wasn’t baying for his execution. She was silently hanging near the back, arms folded across her chest. Instead of a look of cruel mirth or jeer, she looked upon the entire spectacle with distaste and disgust written across her face.

But he soon lost sight of her in the roiling crowd and his view was replaced by Imperial Blue Topaz as she bore down on him.

“Not so confident now that the tables are turned, are you?” Letting out a yelp of fright, he tried to run away, only to be face with Cinnabar, and then by Obsidian. They were pointing, in his face, shouting.

From every direction people were yelling at him, cursing and laughing. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t hide, couldn’t shut them out. Tears began to well up in his eyes. So many people angry, yelling at him. It was too much for him to handle. Steven finally fell to the floor and curled up crying, hands protectively over his head.

The accusers looked at each other confused.

“Are...are we in the right room?” Imperial Blue Topaz asked the others.

“We didn’t go through the wrong door did we?” Cinnabar added, turning to Metatorbernite.

“No, I’m sure this was the right one…” she replied uneasily, pulling up a holographic map.

“So it not just me, all these halls DO look exactly alike!” Golden Obsidian complained.

White Diamond laughed. “Oh don’t worry, darlings. Its her alright. Rose Quartz is just playing a horrid little game. Look! She actually thinks she can fool us with her pathetic act!”  
  
The four Gems looked at the Diamond, then at the shivering organic on the floor, and then at each other. No one seemed to certain what to do, but none could muster the nerve to say what they were thinking.

The feverish frenzy that had taken the Court began to fizzle out. Dissipate. The momentum evaporated as the Court started shifting and murmuring in confusion. There were hushed whispers again, questions and murmurs.

White Diamond stood there in the exact center of it all, having not moved from where she stood previously. She looked down on Steven, still snivelling on the floor, and her smile didn’t fade. But then she turned her attention and looked around the room, something flickering across her face. Whatever it was, it was well hidden. For a while she stood there, watching her courtiers, listening to their hushed chatter. Then, in a flash of motion, she clapped her hands together in two whip-like cracks.

”WELL! That will be all for today. Thank you all for participating, this session of court is now adjourned! _Now all of you get back to work_ ,” she commanded. Swiftly obeying, the crowds hurriedly began to disperse and exit the room. Within moments most of them were gone.

Imperial Blue Topaz approached her. "But, White Diamond, we didn't even get to the-"

" _What did you just say to me_ …?" Her eyes flashed like daggers at the smaller Gem.

The big intimidating Gem suddenly seemed to shrink and quailed beneath the Diamond’s withering stare.

"I SAID AS YOU WISELY COMMAND, O GLORIOUS WHITE DIAMOND!" Imperial Blue Topaz terrifiedly bowed and beat a hasty retreat.

“That’s what I thought you said.”

White Diamond turned her eyes back to Steven.

“Hmm. You are committed to this little charade more than I realized. But don’t worry, I still have plenty of things in store for you. So don’t go wandering off too far. I would be very cross if I had to go _searching_ for you.”

Steven, his entire body still shaking with sobs, picked himself up and began to make his way towards the door, holding himself as he did. He tentatively watched the Diamond as he walked away, looking for any signs of her deciding to have second thoughts. Just as he was about to reach the doors and breath a sigh of relief, her voice called out to him and made him jolt.

“I’ll be calling for you again soon. Oh, and just in case you decide you aren’t ‘feeling up for it’; if you don’t show up, consider your planet forfeit.”

Unable to stand more of her cruel taunting, Steven hurried himself out and away from White Diamond’s Court, and didn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on No Home: Tech Support!


End file.
